Diamond Cutters International

My husband is a researcher, and I joke that he practically became a gemologist while researching diamonds for my engagement ring. Specifically, he read «How to Buy a Diamond, 7E: Insider Secrets for Getting Your Money’s Worth» written by Fred Cuellar. After learning about diamonds and knowing what we wanted, he tried shopping for my ring in the traditional ways (stores, diamond district) only to be extremely disappointed and frustrated with the sales experience. Eventually, he decided to call the phone number he found in the book and learned that DCI also sells diamonds and rings. We lived in Chicago at the time, but he was still able to design my ring with Dee Doan via phone/​email. In his words, «She provided excellent advice and worked very hard to get me exactly what I wanted. Perhaps my favorite part was that she was willing to talk me out of more expensive options. Meaning, whenever it made sense, she talked me into spending less. Love that! She truly has your best interest at heart and I trust her completely. One of the most satisfying customer service experiences I have ever had. Cannot recommend enough!» From my perspective as the recipient of the ring, I was relieved to know we were buying a product from a trustworthy person who was diligent about getting the ring to be exactly how I wanted it. Bonus — we are able to send her both the wedding band and engagement ring every year to be inspected and cleaned. Overall, very pleased with DCI and Dee Doan. Thank you!

This Unilocal review is over due, but I finally had a minute to write it. First off, when it comes to buying a diamond engagement ring, all I can say is watch out! If you want to save time, save money and get a diamond that will hold its value… Go see Robin at Diamond Cutters! There you have it. You don’t have to read anymore. But for those of you who want the whole story, read on. A year ago Thanksgiving, we got engaged. I have always been told if you want the best deal you have to shop around. So my wife Carol (well she’s my wife now) and I went to just about every Jewelry Store in Houston. Mall after mall and strip center after strip center, we shopped them all. What a stressful, frustrating, time consuming venture that turned out to be. Every salesperson, and that’s all they were, treated us like clueless little kids. Oh under the bright lights of their store they showed us plenty of diamonds in various setting… but they didn’t know squat about which diamond holds its value and which one’s you can’t even pawn. None of them offered anything close to a return or exchange policy. I think 30 days was max. And the pressure to buy right now was unbearable. That is where Robin and Diamond Cutters come in. I’ve heard of Diamond Cutters and my wife’s heard of Diamond Cutters. But for some reason, we just didn’t think we could afford it… looking back, I’m not sure why we thought that. Anyway, we got the address and walked in. I think we were supposed to make an appointment or something because at first I think they thought we were trying to sell them something. Funny now, but a little uncomfortable at the time so you may want to make an appointment. Robin was busy, but said she could meet with us if we could wait a few minutes. We had time and there is some real cool stuff in the waiting area. If you’re into Championship Rings, you need to at least pretend you want to buy a diamond and visit them. The Dallas Cowboys and Bronco’s rings were there and I think the Yankees, Patriot’s and a few others as well. If you like bling, they got bling! The atmosphere was very relaxing and professional, nothing at all like the mall. Anyway, so Robin invites us back and begins to ask us questions. Where did we meet, how long have we been engaged, what settings did we like, did we have a special design in mind… she wanted to know us. Carol knew exactly what she wanted, she had the vision! She made a sketch and gave it to Robin who left and returned a few minutes later with an artist rendering of what Carol drew. It was unbelievable. But I started getting nervous. All I could see was lots of $$$$. Robin picked up on this and said «Relax, we work with your budget. The most important thing is quality. Size matters, but a big bad diamond is a big bad diamond.» We laughed and gave her our budget. She showed us a variety of diamonds that were within the budget. But more importantly, she showed us the difference among the diamonds. That was the education part we were lacking when we went store to store. Just because something is big, doesn’t mean it’s worth a lot or will hold its value. We went with the brightest diamond with the most sparkle, a vivid white one… and it was not the biggest! We were also given a lifetime buy back guarantee. This way we can trade it up in the future and it will always be worth what we paid. Good piece of mind there. Bottom line, Carol’s very happy and I’m very happy. That’s my story, so I’ll say it again. When it comes to buying a diamond engagement ring, all I can say is watch out! If you want to save time, save money and get a diamond that will hold its value… Go see Robin at Diamond Cutters!

I going to write an honest review of my experience. I don’t like to negatively review businesses, but I think what is honest is fair.
My husband proposed to me two years ago with an engagement ring from DCI. I was so ecstatic to marry him, but very displeased with the price he paid for what he got. You can look into their whole bonding model yourself, but I personally know it’s not for me. I know I will not get divorced and I know I never want an upgrade — therefore the bonding model really doesn’t apply to me. I personally felt that their prices were higher because of that model, but you can do a price comparison yourself if you visit them. Now, just because this model doesn’t work for me, it really could work in favor for someone else– especially in a case of divorce.
What I had a problem with is that Diamond Cutter International does NOT sell diamonds that are GIA or EGL certified. The certification comes from Diamond Cutters International. This is VERY alarming folks. GIA and EGL are not only the most reputable institutions to certify diamonds, but because they are a third party there would be no incentive for them to rate them higher or lower. I did not feel comfortable that the jeweler who sold me my diamond was also the jeweler that decided what grade/​color/​cut/​price it should be.
My next problem I had with DCI was the quality of my diamonds and band. I made an eternity band to match my engagement ring, and the square baguette diamonds were NOT evenly sized. Some even went different directions than others. After spending upward of $ 4k on the band, I was not pleased.
I eventually returned my diamond, in which they did honorably uphold their end of the bargain (and I applaud them for that).
What was the biggest shocker to me was the difference in diamonds when I went to another highly recommended jeweler. I not only got a much larger diamond for the same price, but the quality of my new (GIA graded) diamond made the one from DCI look like plastic. I had everyone commenting on how shocking my new ring looked, and one person even commented, «wow…no offense, but you really couldn’t tell how bad your old diamond was until you see this one»! To this day I look back in pictures in disgust because I had such an ugly diamond. Mind you my DCI diamond was 1.5 carats, G colored, VVS2. YES those are amazing specs, NO my diamond was not amazing.
My new jeweler then made me aware that the diamonds in my eternity band would not match my new ring and diamond because of the quality DCI used. This upset me, because DCI told me they used a certain color/​clarity which inevitably I found out they did not. So I made ANOTHER new eternity band, that came out to be almost half the price of DCI. Secondly, when you put these two bands up next to each other WHOA what a difference! My new band was whiter, brighter (and no not just because it was new and clean, because I had him clean BOTH), and ALL the diamonds were CORRECTLY placed! I felt completely cheated that not only was I lied to about the diamond grade used for my band, but that I paid an egregious amount for something it was not.
Overall I felt extremely misled by DCI, and was severely disappointed in their quality of diamonds. At the end of the day it was quite stressful, and we ended up losing about $ 10k on both my engagement ring band and eternity band at DCI. I sold it both to a jeweler and recovered $ 1,200 of my losses. I wrote this review, because I think this is information that somebody should know before shopping with them. I don’t like wasting time and/​or money and this was just my personal experience.
Also, my pet peeve is when businesses create fake reviews to improve their ratings. Be smart folks. If the person posting has less than 5 reviews, it’s most likely fake. I wouldn’t be sold on many of the «reviews» for this page.

My fiancé and I had a awesome experience with Diamond Cutters International. After doing some research online we decided to stop by their office to see what their offerings were like. We didn’t have an appointment but were seen by their Vice President, Dee Doan, shortly after arriving. My fiancé knew what style of ring she wanted, but had some questions regarding the cut, quality, and size of the diamond. Dee walked us through the entire process and helped us design the exact style my fiancé wanted. The final product came out exactly as we wanted and we couldn’t be any happier. They made the process easy and painless; I would highly recommend you stop by before going to one of the box retailers. My fiancé gets daily comments on how clear and beautiful her ring is… Money well spent!

I have been going to DCI since the 90’s but it seems a lot of things have changed. I purchased my wife’s diamond 10.5 years ago because I was told DCI diamonds are bonded and if you want to upgrade, it is an easy process and I will get more than what i paid for the diamond etc. Turns out, there are tons or rules that go along with this process and if you don’t pay $ 50 per year to have your diamond checked by DCI, the bonding is null and void. After hours of talking to Fred about this, he finally agreed to give me credit for a new diamond, but the new diamond price was ridiculous. It turns out that DCI’s top diamond sales reps have left and started their own place called Uptown Diamond in Houston, so I contacted Grayland Noah (who is the President of Uptown Diamond and who sold me the original diamond while he was at DCI). Grayland, took care of me from the get go. He helped me find a buyer for my original ring and gave me the credit for it to purchase a diamond that was correctly priced (almost $ 7K lower than DCI’s with better dimensions and quality, color, cut, clarity etc.) and Uptown has a much easier bonding process. Bottom line i don’t have to pay each year to get diamond check and i can get what i paid for if i ever want to sell it back (for whatever reason). DCI was a great place. I loved working with Fred back in the day, nice guy, fun to talk to etc, but I think there have been so many changes there, that I just felt like i was being taken advantage of. Uptown Diamond does exactly what DCI does but their prices are better, quality the same or better and customer service outstanding.

I used to like DCI when Rick Antona was there but now I tell people to go see him at Uptown Diamond. I have had issues with Dee Doan ever since Rick left DCI. The customer service is horrible! DCI gave me the run around. If you need to return your ring, just make sure you have the ring looked at EVERY year. I missed one year and they want to give me less then half of what my ring is worth. It’s not the whole set either, just the solitare. I told Rick about what was going on so he’s taking care of everything now. I HIGHLY recommend Uptown Diamond. Great guys and will work with you on anything and everything!!!

While searching for engagement ring, i knew what type of setting i wanted but it didn’t include the diamond. the problem was is that the store that carried the setting didn’t have the best selection of diamonds. For the grade and quality they looked very dull and yellow but because it’s their «signature» diamond we are supposedly still getting the best. For how much money we were willing pay, it was hard to believe that we were getting the best (probably the best on crappiness). On top of that, the sales guy was pushy and insulted me at one point. thankfully my fiancé remembers dealing with Fred from many years back (early 90s i think). although i was a bit sketchy because i’ve never heard of this guy before, i figured it wouldn’t hurt. Fred greeted us warmly and he’s a very enthusiastic guy. He compared various diamonds from various retail chain stores that claim their diamonds are «the best and ideal» for whatever patent they have, and although they were quite beautiful, he amazed me when presented us with another set of diamonds. These second set of diamonds were MUCH more beautiful and you absolutely get your money’s worth! I think it’s called The Vivid White Diamond. I’ve had girlfriends whose husbands spent as much money on a diamond as we did, but theirs just can’t compare to what we purchased from Fred. Fred knows his diamonds, he will educate you about diamonds, and I highly recommend reading his book because it explains exactly why retail chain store diamonds are not the way to go and what to look for in a diamond. There was absolutely no pressure to buy from DCI and that made me feel more comfortable. Fred also helped in getting the designer engagement setting that I exactly wanted, which meant we didn’t have to deal with anymore salespeople. In fact, I wouldn’t want anyone else handling my ring except for the people at DCI! Now that the diamond is set, my entire engagement ring is absolutely stunning and i get compliments on it all the time. This place is amazing! Fred Cuellar is THE BEST! My fiancé has already let Fred know that we are looking into getting princess cut diamond earrings for me in the future and will only get it from DCI. No regrets here in going with DCI. Eventually i have to personally thank Fred for making me feel like a million bucks with the gorgeous ring.

It’s high time I wrote a review for DCI and Dee!
I got married almost a year ago (geez…) and went back today for a cleaning and to tighten my diamond rings’ prongs.
Regarding pricing, I guess David should be the one writing the review. He had met with Dee back in fall of 2010 to pick out my engagement ring. I actually never spoke with David about what I wanted, but with the help of Dee, it was PERFECT. Size was a tad larger, but under the advice of Dee, she explained that having a larger ring than one that doesn’t squeeze on when you propose is much better.
I never asked specifically how much it was, but he did say comparatively, for the quality of diamond he got, it was an amazing deal. Plus, at DCI, they’re not out to steal your money and trick you into getting a bigger ring. Dee actually gave David great advice on what the best size proportional to a girls’ finger would be. And she also advised what metal was best to get the ring set in.
I had the pleasure of meeting Dee a few days after the proposal to get the ring re-​sized. Since then, we’ve been on a first name basis. Even when I went in today, Dee knew exactly who I was, my last name, David’s name, and even our cousins names!
In addition to my engagement ring, we purchased both our wedding rings here and David got me a pair of diamond earrings as a surprise wedding present as well. Each item is perfect, and at a great price. Cleaning is free and if there are ever any issues, they will take care of it immediately.
I look forward to coming back soon to get my engagement ring reset once the price of metals are lower.
Also, if you’re new to this stuff (going to propose, etc) shop around other places. Find the ring you love, and DCI will replicate it for a better price, and better quality as well. Plus, the service is outstanding. You’re doing business in an office setting, not a retail store. Very professional and very comfortable.

Unless you have thousands of dollars cash to spend, don’t waste your time. He hardly asked or listened to what we wanted. He raved about himself and his wife and then tried to give us marriage and relationship advice. Plus, he pulled out 10 carat diamonds that were obviously out of our price range. After meeting with this guy, we were so frustrated we almost considered not buying a ring at all. Would never recommend him and would never go back, even if you paid me.

WOOHOO! 100 Unilocal Reviews! It has been tons of fun and I cant wait to share 100 more reviews with all of you. Thanks for all of your F.U.C.‘s (Funny, Useful, Cools) and I hope you keep supporting me and all of my antic’s.
The experience of buying an engagement ring is one of the most daunting, pressure filled task a man will face in his life. The number of simple, yet crucial decisions a man is faced with can make the difference between her loving her ring, her simply being content, or perhaps worse. I mean the process seems to go on forever and sometimes the decisions are never ending.
For example:
Gold, Silver or Platinum
White Gold or Yellow Gold
Princess cut, Round, Emerald Cut, Oval, etc
Solitaire, Side Stones, Three Stones.
Channels, Split Shank, Vintage Style, etc
Invisible Setting, Bezel Setting, Prong Setting, Channel Setting, Pave Setting, Cluster Setting, Tension, Illusion…
The Four C’s
COST!
And even with these tough decisions, the stress of knowing whether or not she will say «YES», only adds to the anxiety and chaos. Plus with all of the advertisements, gimmicks, used-​car style salesmen, and over-​priced/​poor quality diamonds out there, this process could easily bring a seemingly strong man to his knees, crying for mercy.
But guys, pull yourself together because there is a star of hope shining brightly in the dead of night. Its called Diamond Cutters International. I was one of those guys who was completely overwhelmed by the ring buying experience. It was not till I went to Diamond Cutters International, that I recognized that buying a ring should actually be a fun, educational, and truly special experience. From the first moment I met with my ring specialist, Rick Antona, I knew I was in the right place. There was no cheesy sales pitch, no special lighting, or even huge displays of gaudy rings. Just pictures of Diamond Cutter staff with famous clientele and beautiful NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, and MLS championship rings. Rick explained to me the entire process, showed me what a quality diamond should look like.
When I first met with Rick he really got to know me and know about my relationship. He really gave the basics of buying an engagement ring and helped understand why it really should not be that hard. He gave me a copy of Fred Cuellars book «How to Buy a Diamond» and he really allowed me to feel completely comfortable the process. Next, Rick worked with me on my budget and helped me get the best possible diamond available within my budget. I had come in with some ring design ideas and Rick helped pick the best one and within several weeks he had the ring ready for pick up. Every time I went to Diamond Cutters they knew me by name and were as helpful as could be. Payment for the ring was a breeze and you end up getting a lot more than what you pay for. I will let you find out what sort of awesome surprises they have for you at the end of the process. But the most important thing I took from this process was that buying a ring should be about trust. If you are making such a huge investment of emotion and cost then you better trust the people you are working with. Diamond Cutters International is all about building a lasting relationship with its clients and selling a quality product, for that reason I had complete trust in Rick and Diamond Cutter International.
I never imagined buying and engagement ring would be this easy. I never imagined that I could sit back and relax for almost the entire process. It was so seamless and simple, I almost felt a tad bit guilty for not having to working harder. But in the end, I got the exact thing that I wanted and the most important things is that she loved it and she said «YES»!

I hate buying jewelery.
No, really.
But I’m a guy so that’s to be expected right? I mean, what is «good»? And what’s just «good enough to get me out of trouble»?
I found DCI (their name is too long lol) while researching quality diamond dealers. I say quality dealers because alot of the places where you’d normally buy an engagement ring are walmart-​like places (zales etc) or they’re pawn shop style mom-​and-​pop places that won’t be there next year when you need it resized due to your new wife’s home cooking.
So I fired off an email to Fred, full of «I’m not going to get ripped off» verbage and lots of other tough guy stuff. He responded in about 8 hours (wow!) and it wasn’t an assistant, it was the big guy himself. He told me what the options I had were for the price I wanted to pay and I said, ‘Eh. I’ll get back with you.“
Then I ran straight out to Kays and BC Clark to check those prices and get a deal because they can beat any price, right? WRONG! They laughed me out of the place at Kays. BC Clark said they think I’m making stuff up. There was no way they could make my wife’s engagement ring at that price.
So back I came and asked for Fred to give me every piddling detail about the ring, TW, carat, clarity, appraisal details, time till it was ready, even the shipping cost (was none) and I took it back to BC. Their response? «That’s a manufacturer. We can’t do that.»
What?
Needless to say I had Fred roll up a ring for us at the substantial discount and he didn’t even say «I told you so» which let me keep my dignity, feel like I got a good bargain (I’m a famous tightwad), and make the new wife happy too.
Happy endings for all. ;-)
Go buy a ring from him guys. You’ll be glad you did and what’s more important SHE will be glad you did. With luck you’ll have a happy ending too.

My husband (boyfriend at the time) met Fred Cuellar from Diamond Cutters International in ²⁰⁰³⁄₂₀₀₄ at a poker gathering. The quickly befriended each other where Andy learned off Fred’s business in Diamonds. After understanding how Diamond Cutters is different from the Zales and Kay Jewelers chop shops (not a surprise) but also trumped the (Tiffany and DeBeers models) Andy told me that he knew that working with DCI was the way to go. DCI has done championship rings for a ton of professional sports teams such as the Cowboys, Yankees, and the Red Wings. They have also done work for the last three presidents, the Royal Saudi Family, plus hundreds of other professional athletes, prominent leaders, and celebrities… While my husband does not typically get impressed by celebrities, the fact he has done work for people like this made the decision VERY compelling. The thing that TRULY sold my husband was and is the fact that DCI is fully bonded which MOST jewelers are not. Essentially this means, that if our diamond were to break we could get a new one. Also, if we happened to fall on hard financial times or our marriage did not work out, the stone alone would be fully refunded for EXACTLY what it was paid for. I had never heard of this and was shocked to learn that this was the case. Who wouldn’t want to buy a diamond from DCI? Well anyone who has not met Fred, Andrew Burns, and/​or any other associates, heard through advertising, or word of month just would not know. If anyone is wanting to be educated on how to buy a diamond then Fred has done that, too. His book «How to Buy a Diamond» is the world’s most referenced book on diamonds for when it comes time to purchase… OK, So how can you top all of that so that one would purchase from DCI? The price match and beat ALL competitors by 20%…Andy even did not believe this and Fred said that there are maybe 4 or 5 diamond cutting houses in the states that could beat 20% but the quality would not be as good…
So there you have it. I am SO happy I got back on Unilocal to see what I was missing out for reading reviews on restaurants and openly admit, I do not take the time to review… How do these Elite Unilocalers do all of these texbook reviews? Amazing and a big thank you is well deserved! Thanks Fred for you, the amazing diamond and custom designed ring… We will continue to send you business and I will continue to think of you everytime I take a moment to stare at my beautiful diamond!

Great place! Never before I have I walked into a jewelery store and felt so comfortable. They are there to help you not try to push a sale. I also brought my 14 month old in with me and they were so great about it. I bought my wedding bands there and they came in looking beautiful. If you want GREAT customer service and great products I can’t suggest any other jeweler.